Tuesday, November 19, 2013

An
organic chocolate company that uses Rainforest Alliance Certified
Cacao, Oregon based Dagoba offers a wide range of dark chocolate bars
mixed with other organic ingredients along with drinking chocolate
options and baking products. Some of the flavors that they offer
include Lavender Blueberry, Chai, and Lemon Ginger. You are able to
order their products online from their website.

Dawn and
I found this little bit of chocolate at one of the grocery stores
that we frequent, and I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised,
considering the last couple of chocolates we've sampled recently.
Upon first opening the wrapping you can immediately smell a
delightful mixture of dark chocolate and raspberries, which happens
to be one of my more favored chocolate/fruit combinations. There is
also rosehip in it as well, according to the wrapper, but I don't
think my senses are attuned to the flavor enough to have actually
picked up on it, although I do think I can smell a hint of it.

Regardless,
the chocolate was quite good, a nice mixture of dark chocolate with a
slight tangy sweetness from the raspberries, with a smooth texture
that is pleasing to the tongue. The company seems to have decided to
put actual raspberries into the chocolate, rather then simply
settling for raspberry flavoring. This is rather nice, in my opinion,
although it does come with the minor disadvantages that come
naturally with raspberries. Namely, the fact that there are raspberry
seeds in the chocolate itself. As anyone who had raspberries before
would know, those can sometimes be a bit annoying to remove if they
get stuck in your teeth, but again, this is only a very minor thing.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys
chocolate and raspberries together. It might even make a nice
addition to an ice cream smoothie if it's chopped up first.

-The
Artist-

Of the
world of chocolate, I have never been much of a fan of dark
chocolate. Though I'm well aware of how much healthier it is to have
compared to the milk and white varieties, dark always tasted, well,
bitter. To say I was hesitant to try this particular chocolate was an
understatement but the fact that there was raspberries and rosehips
in it had perked my curiosity. I was taken by surprise to find that
the flavor of the chocolate wasn't heavy as many dark chocolates can
be. The raspberries and rosehips was actually a pleasant compliment,
seeming to enhance the natural fruitiness of the chocolate itself. It
was certainly an enjoyable surprise which now has me wondering about
the other flavors that the company has available.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

A
company based in Orlando, Florida which specializes in cheese
alternatives for those who are on special diets. Providing soy
cheese, vegan cheese, rice cheese and organic cheese alternatives
with amazing flavor, their website actually includes recipes and a
way to find out where to purchase their products.

Upon
first opening the cheese, the first thing one will notice is the
texture. Despite being made mostly out of rice, it actually has the texture
of regular cheese, somewhat of a mix between cheddar and monterey
jack. It is what I would call a medium cheese in terms of firmness,
mostly firm but with a little give. It slices much like regular
cheese as well, able to be made into slices or chunks as one pleases.
The texture of the cheese when eaten ends up being somewhat like a
feta or a low moisture mozzarella. As you continue eating you may
note the flavor, which tends to hover somewhere between a mild
cheddar flavor and monterey jack, a somewhat salty, slightly tangy
cheese flavor. When melted, more of the cheddar flavor ends up coming
out, with the taste becoming a bit more salty than when it is eaten
cold. Overall, the cheese was rather pleasant and somewhat
surprising, as I think both Dawn and I were expecting something more
akin to tofu cheese.

Monday, September 30, 2013

A small
restaurant located in Old Sacramento, California, Indo Cafe offers
patrons a deliciously varied menu of Asian and Indonesian cuisine.
Priding themselves on freshness and healthy choices for their
customers, there's always something tasty to try.

Not on
the main menu but on a small white board off to the side, the Thai
Curry Noodles comes with a choice of either mild (yellow curry) or
hot (red curry) then either chicken, beef or pork as the meat that
you can choose from. Having made a decision of mild curry with
chicken, a plate of golden noodles with mixed vegetables and chicken
came to the table glistening with curry sauce. Please keep in mind
that the mild curry depends on your tolerance for spice. The balance
of flavors was able to be noted; hints of ginger and red pepper
mingling with turmeric and other spices worked together in harmony.
Tender bamboo shoots along with the sweetness of cabbage and carrots
brought everything together while juicy chicken pieces absorbed the sauce wonderfully.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

California
Sungold Pistachios, a gourmet nuts and treats company based out of
Oakhurst, California has amongst their products Dark Chocolate
Espresso Beans. Their products are available for purchase at CVS
Pharmacy and their website by the case (for wholesale trade only).

After
trying a couple of beans each we came to an agreement that though the
flavor is nice, the chocolate seemed to have the taste more of a milk
chocolate then dark. Another inconsistency that we noticed was that
yes the size of each blob of chocolate are the same (about the size
of a peanut), this is not an accurate indication to the size of the
espresso bean on the inside. Some will be a full sized bean while
others will be either a half or even a fragment of a bean. With this
in mind, they do taste alright but is a disappointment when having
the expectations of having a full bean cloaked in a dark chocolate.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Abel's
Apple Acres, located in Placerville, California is an orchard which
is part of a small collective in the area commonly known as Apple
Hill. Every year for a couple of months during the Autumn season
which is the peak of the apple harvesting season, Abel's Apple Acres
opens its doors to customers to purchase apples, honey, and pies
which they can take home to bake in the comfort of their own kitchen.
One of the pies that they have available is a Strawberry Rhubarb
Apple pie.

Somewhat
rich with a decent amount of sugary sweetness. Can be a bit tangy if
your slice has a few pieces of the rhubarb in it, but otherwise the
strawberries, apples and rhubarb tend to blend well. The crust ends
up being flakey and just a touch buttery when fully cooked. The
filling has healthy portions of sliced apples, with pieces of rhubarb
and strawberry spread throughout the pie. Since the pie isn't one of
those mass produced kinds, the rhubarb and strawberries may not be
evenly distributed, though this doesn't take away from the flavor for
the most part.

-The
Artist-

Having
really not been well acquainted to rhubarb, I was curious how this
strange celery-like veggie would be in a fruit pie. Would it make the
dessert taste too bitter or would the flavors compliment each other?
Cutting into the pie, chunks of rhubarb, apple and bits of strawberry
slowly oozed from their flaky crust prison. I was pleasantly
surprised by how sweet the pie was overall but even more so when I
discovered that the tangy-ness of the rhubarb gave just the perfect
amount of tartness which worked well with the apples. I would highly
suggest, however, that if you purchase and bake this particular pie
that you put a small sprinkling of brown sugar on the top.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Once
there was a Gamer and an Artist. It was an odd partnership but there
was one thing that they did have in common- the love of good food.
After bouncing the suggestion around over several meals in various
locations, it was agreed upon that they should record their journey
through the culinary world. So joining forces, they prepare
themselves for an epic quest to discover good food and share their
discoveries.

A self employed artist since 2006, I specialize in watercolors but am not afraid of experimenting with mixed media. An appreciator of good coffee and supporter of the arts, I enjoy sharing my discoveries with others. I used to be a vendor 4 years running at the Sacramento Arts Festival from 2006 to 2009 and have been one of the accepted artists for the KVIE Art Auction from 2008 to 2011.